39% of people living in Japan feel lonely: gov't study

Some 39 percent of people in Japan feel lonely at times, according to a recent government survey, with a law that took effect in April last year to address isolation apparently not yet having a significant impact.The percentage of people who either felt lonely "often or always," "sometimes" or "once in a while" totaled 39.3 percent in 2024, unchanged from the previous survey in 2023. The figure has remained largely unchanged since the study began in 2021.The survey for the first time also examined the relationship between feelings of loneliness and smartphone usage. Among those who used sma…READ FULL ARTICLE